Yemenis Protest State-Authorized Quran Desecrations in Sweden

By Staff, Agencies

Yemeni protesters have set the Swedish flag on fire in condemnation of the recurring acts of desecration of the Holy Quran in the Nordic country.

The protest was organized by Yemen’s Office of Youth and Sports in the capital Sana’a on Thursday under the slogan, “The Quran is a crown above our heads and a light in our hearts.”

The participants denounced the Swedish authorities’ permission for extremists to burn copies of the holy Muslim book, calling for the perpetrators of the crime to be punished.

The Yemeni protesters also called on the international community to take a firm stand against countries that allow insults to Islam and religious sanctities.

Abdullah Obeid, director of the Youth and Sports Office, attended the gathering and condemned the sacrilegious act, calling on Muslim countries to cut relations with Sweden and Denmark.

“We are the people of faith and wisdom, and it is our religious duty to stand firm against this heinous crime,” Obeid said.

He further added: “It is Yemeni wisdom that we stand at the forefront of the ranks to call for decisions by the governments of Arab and Islamic countries to sever relations with Sweden and Denmark, and to hold accountable the perpetrators of the crime of burning the Holy Quran.”

Obeid underlined that allowing such anti-Islam actions under the pretext of freedom of expression is “unacceptable,” and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims across the world.

Obeid also praised the position of the leader of Yemen's popular Ansarullah resistance movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, on the blasphemous acts and the boycott of Swedish and Danish products.

Under police protection on Thursday, the members of “Danske Patrioter” — a Danish far-right and anti-Islam extremist group — continued the widely-condemned act of Quran desecration for the fourth consecutive day in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen.